Independent Advisor Alliance Takes $3.42 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 14,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,416,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,549 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,028 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,379,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 344.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 29,457 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,889,000 after purchasing an additional 22,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.56.

Ciena Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $578.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $444.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $598.84. The company has a market cap of $81.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 368.44, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.